Pāhoa pool closed because of tephra from recent Kīlauea lava fountaining episode

Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center is closed until further notice because of tephra — principally ash and volcanic strands of glass called Pele’s hair — accumulating in the pool.

Hawai‘i County Department of Parks and Recreation reports the pool was first closed Jan. 24 at the beginning of Episode 41 lava fountaining of the ongoing episodic summit eruption of Kīlauea.

“It’s important to the public’s health and safety to conduct a thorough cleaning of the entire pool to ensure safe operation and use of the facility going forward,” said Parks and Recreation Director Clayton Honma in a county announcement about the closure. “We appreciate the public’s patience during this closure and look forward to welcoming swimmers back to the pool when the project is complete.”

Ash and Pele’s hair continue to collect in the pool — despite concerted efforts by the county to rinse down the facility’s roofing, pressure wash the pool decks and continuously vacuum the pool basin — as it is blown from the roofs of nearby structures, trees and across open areas of the park.

The integrity of the pool’s filtration system also is in question given the amount of debris that likely infiltrated the sand media in filters.

Parks and Recreation is initiating the process, with the assistance of Hawai‘i County Finance Department, of hiring a contractor for a comprehensive cleaning of the pool basin and filtration system.

The county will provide more details about the timeline for the closure as the project progresses.

“All the Pele’s hair and all that material, that tephra, went into the pool and it’s stuck in the gutters, and there’s a filter and if that filter is broken, it’s gonna cost us about $60,000 to replace,” said Hawai’i County Mayor Kimo Alameda in his weekly social media update Friday (Jan. 30). “We’re inspecting it right now, and so we’re gonna keep that pool closed until further notice.”

Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center experienced a similar extended closure and cleanup process because of the 2018 lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse at Kīlauea.